Coded
by zero.ATM
Summary: Five years ago, Cloud Strife and his best friend, Zack Fair were experimented on by an enigma only referred to as "Professor". Cloud barely survived, but his friend was not as lucky. Now in high school, he tries to balance school, work for a secret government organization, and his search for "Professor". [AU. Cloud's POV.]
1. Unnamed

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7.**  
(If I did, then I wouldn't put this disclaimer.)

* * *

Chapter 1: Unnamed

* * *

 _"C'mon let's go and have an adventure."  
"Don't worry, just think we're getting super powers after this."  
"You made it! What's your number? Mine's 2996!"  
"Hey, Cloud. Let's talk to that kid over there."  
"My name is Zack, this is my friend Cloud, and you are?"  
"Everything will be fine… Our parents are looking for us right? They'll save us right?"  
"RUN!"_

* * *

My eyes shot open. I wipe the sweat from my forehead and the tears from my eyes. I dreamt about Zack again…

 _Ugh... what time is it?_

My watch reads 7:36 am, which means class starts in less than an hour. I force myself to stand. Raising both my hands in the air and slightly bending side to side. I frowned at the usual sight of my apartment. If I had my way with my wall's color scheme, I would've went with grayscale but my parents had other plans. They went ahead and painted the walls a sickly shade of orange. It reminded me of the orange cookies Ma used to buy, which I always hated. Luckily, the bathroom and kitchen were spared from it.

I sigh as I longingly stared at my bed then aggressively shook my head and decide to drag myself to the bathroom. _I hope the water would help me resist the urge to go back to sleep._ Once inside, I let my clothes drop on the floor and continue trudging towards the shower. The cold water splashes on my face. I follow the water trickling and found myself examining my right arm. I had a huge gash on it before I went to sleep and just like every other wound I had; it disappeared after a couple of hours. I run my finger from my wrist to my elbow and wince.

Aside from the healing ability, my glowing blue eyes and my slightly better-than-average above athletic skills are the result of the experiment I was part of five years ago. Convenient as it may be, my abnormal regeneration rate simply reminded me of what happened five years ago. There are times when I'd forget about it, but then some would comment on my eyes and my sudden bouts of strength that I'd end up thinking of the experiments.

After I showered, I sat on the foot of my bed, drying my hair with the towel hanging from my shoulders. The phone on the computer table lights up and I answer the call.

"Hello?"

 _"Good morning, Cloud."_

"Good Morning."

 _"I heard your rank went up. When's the celebration?"_

"I don't plan on celebrating."

 _"Really?"_

"Of all the people, you, know what my goal is, right?"

 _"…"_

"Being first is not one of it."

 _"You still need to get to rank 999 or above to get closer to your goal. Do you know what else you need?"_

"A partner, you've been bugging me to get one, and my answer is still the same: I'm not looking for any partners."

 _"Exactly how I imagined you answering. Oh, I saw a job on the board last night, the target's in your school, so I took it."_

I can't do anything about your decision, you asshole. "Ugh… Thank you very much. What am I up against?"

 _"I don't know."_

" _Great…_ I have to go to school, bye."

I place my phone on the bedside table and return to the bathroom. I comb my hair in effort to keep it down but just like any other day, I sigh and give up. These blond spikes will not succumb to water, gel, wax, and even hair iron. I still haven't decided if the spikiness is a blessing because they don't droop to my face, or a curse because they won't budge down at all. I continue with my routine and wear the rest of my uniform: white polo and a black tie. I slip my phone in my front pocket and my ID in my back pocket.

I step out of my unit and knock repeatedly on my neighbor's door.

"Vincent! Wake up!"

I have been the alarm clock for Vincent for a year now. My homeroom teacher made me do it before and me waking him up is now just a habit.

"Vincent!"

I hear him groan. That could mean two things: either he's shifted his position and went back to sleep or he's sitting by the foot of his bed and cursing me because I woke him up. In my opinion, I think he needs to get out more. Vincent is too pale. He always wears a bandana which kept his black hair from covering his face, but he only ends up showcasing his red eyes to the world. Frankly, his eyes unsettle me. However, what bothers me the most is how he gets to class just before the bell rings every single day; without fail.

A car pulls up in front of our dorm and our other neighbor, Genesis Rhapsodos, he also works for the agency and He goes to the same school as Vincent and I.

"Good Morning, Mr. Grumpy."

"Good Morning, pretty boy." I reply and he frowns. "You crossed the line."

I'm actually surprised he's offended. I don't think pretty boy is a good insult. It was a poor comeback.

"Fine. Good morning, handsome girl. Better?"

He grunts and takes out a pocket book, "Can you tell my homeroom teacher that I'm sick?"

"Sure, just remind me to tell him."

* * *

"Good morning!" The guard greets.

"Good morning," I answer as I show him my ID.

Unlike other schools, we don't wear or ID's on our necks or place pins on our uniform. Instead, we flash it just like detectives and police in movies. During the first few weeks of implementation of this ID, I felt like I was a detective or something but now, it's a normal thing.

* * *

 _Classes are finally over._ I thought to myself as I stretch my arms and yawn. Students are starting to leave the school and I can finally start with my work. _Hmm… but why do I feel like I'm forgetting something I'm supposed to do?_ I sigh and shrug it off. _It's probably not important._

My eyes sometimes allows me to see whether the creatures I see are just in camouflage or if they are really human. So far, I haven't seen anyone who's not human.

You see, in this world, there are otherworldly creatures seamlessly blending in our society and none of us the wiser. Those creatures you hear in scary stories, or read about in books? They're all real, and they could be anyone, you know. According to the scientists, they are from a world parallel to our own, dubbed as "Alternate Gaia" or "Underworld". The government faked articles and invented stories of urban legends to keep their existence a secret. And the organization I'm working for? It's our job to hunt these creatures to protect humanity.

I walk around the school checking the indoor clubs: light music club, literature club, sewing club, book club, jazz club and etc. I went to the auditorium to check the drama club but I remembered, they went on a field trip.

 _Hmmm... Time to check the outdoor clubs._ I finish checking the karate club, gardening club, and the football club and was on my way to check the basketball club when I heard a conversation coming from the back of the gym.

"You're a vampire, right? How about we team up and find someone to eat? You get the blood, I'll have the flesh. It's a fair deal right?" a raspy voice says.

I walk towards the voice.

"N-N-No thanks, sir." A female voice answers.

I see the girl is a girl backed up in the corner and the basketball coach standing just a few steps away from her. Wait, isn't that my classmate?

The man — no… the creature she's talking to has brown scaly skin with wings like that of an angel's. Instead of it being made out of feathers, this creature's wings are like its skin and as tall as his frame.

"I know you're hungry because you're not fighting back. If you don't want to help me then, I have no choice but to kill you. No one could know that I'm here, you see." It says, flicking its tongue.

Staying in the shadows, I summoned a stun gun and shoot the fiend on its neck. It drops on the floor and twitches like an insect that had been stepped on. I call the agency to pick this guy up. The girl scratches her head and walks towards the body. Pocketing my stun gun, I reveal myself and she raises her fists.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." I dismiss the gun and walk towards her.

"Is he dead?" she asks.

I shake my head as I summon a tranquilizer gun and shoot it on its neck.

"Where did _that_ come from?"

"Him or the gun?"

"The gun." she clarifies.

I frown and ignore her question. "The shot would last for 20 minutes at most. It should buy us time before _they_ get here."

" _They_? Who's _they_?"

"I'm not going to answer that. It's not important. Anyway, he said you're a vampire but you look human to me. How did-"

"I'm not going to answer _you_ , unless you answer _me_."

"Ugh… this glove," I raise my right hand. "Allows me to summon the gun and _they_ is an organization that keeps humans safe from creatures from the Underworld."

"Are you going to take me too?"

"I-" I tried to think of words to say to but my mouth just opens and closes. "I don't know, I'm not in the position to tell you."

"So they _are_ going to take me." she whispers.

I felt something grab me by my leg and I'm thrown into the sky. The next thing I know is I'm sent flying. I turn towards the ground and summon a spear, and aim aiming it at the monster that just woke up. It dodges by jumping backwards.

"It was supposed to last longer." I mumble as I land and pull the weapon from the ground. "It's fast and so is its regeneration speed."

The monster lunges at me. I dodge, summon a handgun and shoot its legs but it only slowed him down. "Damn it!" I say as I reload the gun before dismissing it. _I'm going to need more firepower to take him down._ I summon a shotgun this time and shoot its legs again. _That should buy me some time. I guess I need to ask for her help._

I loosen my tie and unbutton two buttons as I dash towards the girl, who was back at the corner again.

"You need blood in order to fight, right?" I say showing my neck and a part of my shoulder.

"Drink up and help my fight."

"I-I-I can't. I haven't done it before. I don't want to kill you." she says shaking her head and looking away.

"If you don't want _that_ to kill you," I say pointing the thing that was starting to recover. "Then drink up. I'm not going to die."

"Okay…" she says lowering her head, "B-b-but you have to turn around."

Turn around? Oh… I blush. _I wouldn't want to be in that kind of position. To be that close to a girl? I'd probably die of a heart attack or maybe even choke on my own saliva._ I shake my head and check the time. 4:58:43.

If my memory serves me right, it takes approximately 3.35 seconds for an average human to get all of his/her blood sucked by an average vampire. I'm not an average human and she's probably just an average vampire but still… I think my regeneration probably won't be able handle it if I let her drink my blood for more than 5 seconds.

I turn and she places her hands on my shoulders lowering me to so she could sink her teeth in. My vision blurs and I see a silhouette of the fiend slowly standing.

"Hey…" I say weakly while glancing at my watch that read 4:58:48. "You can stop now."

She gasps before she releases me. I grip my shoulder and summon sniper rifle and a syringe.

"I'm going to shoot it again. When it tries to recover, go and use this on its neck. Use your strength on your legs to increase your speed and then on your arm as you inject that to its neck. Got it?"

She nods and I peek into the scope. It might anticipate on getting shot on the legs so… I shoot its eyes instead, being extra careful not to shoot anywhere else for it might destroy the jewel resting on its head which might be used by our scientists. I then shoot its legs and give the girl the go signal. She dashes towards the monster, leaps into the air and lands on the monster's back. She raises the syringe before stabbing it on its neck. It goes down and the girl jumps as it does. The team finally came a few minutes after we put it into sleep.

They took the fiend. Unfortunately, they also took the girl.

"Nice work. You never knew she was a vampire?"

I nod. This is my boss, Rufus Shinra; also known by his codename, Prince. Everyone just calls him "Lazy Prince" behind his back, though. I heard he's strong and good with guns but I have never seen him in battle nor do I know his rank.

"Your rank increased again. This time it increased by ten."

My eyes widen. "T-ten!? How did that happen!?"

"Your target a while ago was an asp, also known as 'Coach'."

"Why didn't you tell me that he was coded?"

Coded is a term we use for targets that have a codename. A codename is given to a target if (a) it has eluded capture several times, (b) it is strong or skilled, or (c) it has killed a lot of people every time it feeds. Codenames are also applicable to us agents. For example, (lazy) prince over here. You gain a codename according to your abilities, weapon, species, or in his case, distinct traits or characteristics.

He frowns. "About that girl, what's her name?"

"I don't know."

"She's your classmate and you don't even know her name?"

"I don't talk much in class."

He mumbles something to himself and sighs.

"I'm thinking about making her my partner. She hesitated on drinking my blood which means she's not used to doing it or maybe that was her first time tasting human blood. I actually saw myself working together with her in the future when she helped me take down ' _Coach_ '." I announce.

He hits my back (maybe it's just a pat in his standards) and says "Good. You could have her as your partner but, we'll have to interrogate her first."

* * *

We reach HQ and went to our office. Rufus usually does all the paper work while I do all the field work. I don't address him as "sir." I just call him "Rufus" because he thinks Mr. Shinra is too formal and if I call him Rufus, I'd feel more comfortable.

He takes the folder on top of his table and scans it. He opens his computer and prints something. He places the newly printed paper in the folder and says "Let's go to the interrogation room."

We arrive and see her with cuffs on her wrists and ankles. We sit at the opposite of the table and Rufus opens the folder. He hands me an empty data sheet with her picture on it and a pen.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Tifa Lockhart." She answers.

"Occupation?"

"Student."

"No part-time jobs?"

"I help my dad sometimes."

"Oh, I see… What's his job?"

"He works at a funeral parlor."

"Hmm… This is the first time I encountered a vampire working as a-"

"N-no. My dad is human."

"Then what are you?"

"I'm half-human, half-vampire."

"That's impossible…" I snap a look of confusion towards Rufus but he didn't seem to notice. Instead he leans on his chair and rubs his hairless chin. "Hmm…"

He bolts upright, "Maybe you're not the first case…" he turns to me, "Cloud, continue this, I'm going to fetch some… _information._ " He shoots me a don't-mess-this-up look before walking out of the room leaving just the two of us there.

I clear my throat.

"Umm… What did he mean by impossible?" she asks.

"I…" I peek at the files inside the folder and got distracted for a bit.

"I, what?"

"…I don't know." I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. "Soo… What is your mom's occupation?"

She raises both shoulders and drops her gaze "I don't know… I haven't seen her yet."

"Oh… Did she die?"

"I-I don't know." her voice was cracking.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"I have no memories of her," She says still refusing to make any eye contact. "But dad told me I lived with my mom before and she introduced me to my dad when I was three. He was shocked when he learned that mom was… um… not human."

She pauses for a second and gulps down the lump in her throat. "S-S-She told her that I could not stay with her because I smell like a human and if they learn that I'm half…"

She looks straight into my eyes and says, "They would kill me or worse, _use_ me. So… my dad left his office job to work as a mortician because he doesn't want me to kill in order to survive."

"But I saw you eat you eat lunch before…"

"I am _half_ human… I could only use the supernatural feats of power if I drink blood or eat flesh. I'm just a normal girl if I don't."

"Hey… is this the first time you've encountered someone from the underworld?"

She shakes her head. "This is the first time I encountered _them_ without feeding on something, though. That's why I couldn't protect myself."

 _Argh! It's not making any sense…_

"If you can survive by just by eating human food, why bother drinking blood? You could probably live like a normal person that way."

She scratches her head, "You have a point there. Hmmm… How can I explain this to you? Hmmm…"

She snaps her fingers, "Think about it this way. You can't live just by only eating meat, right? Your body still needs other nutrients not just protein. The same goes for my body. If I don't drink blood for a certain length of time, I will become weaker and my blood lust will become stronger."

She makes a good point there.

"Besides, I've told you I've encountered them before, right? They usually get pretty aggressive if you refuse them. So… thanks for helping me out back there." She says with a smile.

 _This wasn't her first encounter…_ I pinch the bridge of my nose. _Her father became a mortician…_ I get it now… so when she said she "hasn't done it before" a while ago is because… She hasn't tasted blood from someone alive.

"You've been feeding off the fresh corpses." I mumble.

She nods. "But I understand why other vampires crave blood from live humans. Fresh blood tastes better." she says with a smile.

I furrow my brows. _Why is she smiling? Ugh… It's creeping me out._ I feel the hair at the back of my head stand as " **Fresh blood tastes better** ," plays on repeat in my head. I wipe the sweat that started to form on my forehead and gulp my saliva down.

Now, I regret letting her taste my blood.

* * *

AN: Notice the changes in this chapter? That's because I finally have a beta!  
 **xXxAnGeLFLoNnExXx** , a very awesome person.

Reviews are appreciated! :)


	2. Partner

Chapter 2: Partner

* * *

Rufus enters the room sipping a cup of coffee. He places the coffee on the table, dangerously close to the folder and sits beside me.

"I brought you a little snack." He says while reaching into his jacket. He places a blood pack in front of Tifa.

"Thank you but I'm still full." she answers.

"You're… _full_?"

Rufus turns to me and rests his chin on his palm. "Did you feed our guest?"

"No, I didn't. Uh… Well, I did, during the fight. Didn't I mention it before?" I clench my fists to prevent my hands from shaking and look away from the table.

He chuckles and pats my back. "You're so tense, Cloud." He takes a pointed straw from his pocket and sticks it in end of the blood pack.

"Here you go." He says holding it out. "You don't have to finish it. Just taste it and tell me if you like it or not."

She raises an eyebrow, reaches for it but stops halfway.

"C'mon take it. It's just blood…" she doesn't budge.

"… _from a very willing donor._ " He says in a very sinister low tone sending chills down my spine.

 _What the heck, Rufus? Did you seriously think she would even try it now that you've said it 'that' way?_  
I heave a sigh. "It's just a regular blood pack. You know, like the one you see in hospitals." I say hoping to reassure her and she finally takes the pack from Rufus.

Her eyes widen as she takes a sip. She looks at Rufus and says "It's good."

"Tifa, do you like this world?" The lazy prince says as he reclines on his chair.

"This world, what do you mean by that?"

"The Overworld, do you like living here?"

"I don't understand what you mean by that but, yes, I like living here."

"Why don't you join us? We fight to preserve the peace this world and to prevent the underworld from slaughtering every human."

"Before I say yes, can you please explain what the underworld is?" Rufus sighs and tells her the basic knowledge about our world, the Overworld, and the other world, the Underworld.

Where the "Underworld" is not yet known. These creatures could appear in our world from thin air, through summoning and other ways that are yet to be discovered.

The world we live in, Gaia, is also called "The Overworld". It is inhabited mostly by humans but about 10% of the population are creatures of the Underworld. Through the years, we learned that not all of these creatures are evil, and not all of them are merciless, gluttonous cannibals. In fact, they can't help what their species consume. Not only that, some species don't even feed on us— they only feed off of negativity like surges of violent behavior and fear.

Some of them simply want to co-exist in this world with humanity. They _enjoy_ the Overworld as well as we do so they work with us in order to preserve this world. In return, we help them by satisfying their needs for survival. These varies for species some thirst for blood, others yearn for flesh, and some even feed off of negativity like violence and fear.

The main reason why the government keeps this information from the public is because fear, distress, panic, negative emotions and ideas attract these creatures. If the public knew about their existence chaos would ensue and monsters will come wave after wave. Slaughtering everyone in sight. Then, we humans, could become the stuff of legends for Underworld creatures. Other than worldwide mass panic itself, the government keeps this information from the public because said concentration of fear, distress, and a whole bunch of other negative emotions could prove to be too much for the creatures to handle and set them off on a frenzy, potentially wiping the entire human race. On the other hand, humans fear what they don't understand and they could be mindlessly retaliating against even the most pacifistic of the Underworld creatures.

"Oh, so the people in this organization, are both humans and monsters?" Tifa says after the little discussion.

"Yes, but it would be better if you don't address them as monsters, fiends or even demons. Most of them get offended."

She nods in awe, "So… How should I address them?"

"Just like how you address people you don't know."

"Okay, I'll be more careful. Hmm… By the way, are you human, mister… uh…"

"Rufus Shinra, call me Rufus and yes, I am human and Cloud is human as well."

"Rufus Shinra!? The heir to the Shinra Company! Why are _you_ here?"

"I do it for the thrill."

He unlocks the cuffs, motions for Tifa to follow him, and orders me to find a job at the Board. I sigh and follow his commands. I'm not in the position to argue anyway.

The Board is where jobs or missions are posted. In this organization, codenames can be a good thing or a bad thing: good, because it serves as your name so that your job won't mix up with your personal life; and bad, because in the case of a target with a codename, it means trouble. The target could either have eluded capture or extermination several times, or its eating habits are alarming. They are considered as a huge threat to mankind and should best be detained in any way as soon as possible.

I take my school ID out, placed behind it is my organization ID. It looks like a thin sheet of plastic or glass but if you draw the right pattern, it turns on. I haven't saved enough money for the watch version of the ID but I'll have it by next week if I get lucky in this mission. I draw my code and the ID lights up. There's a feint logo of the organization in the background and my details are written on a translucent white box flushed in the middle of the screen and along with my details is a box for my picture.

A small panel is flushed on the left side of the screen. I press the word 'mission' written in bold white letters. The screen loads and I'm taken to the list of missions. Highlighting the mission I'm interested in, I swipe left to see more details.

 _MISSING FARM TOOLS and LIVESTOCK_

 _Various farms have reported that 'bandits' have been stealing their farm equipment and killing their beloved farm animals. The intelligence team suspects that these are the work of green goblins due to the DNA results from the teeth of one of the farm's guard dogs. Traces of toadstool were also retrieved from the area and we are also suspecting that some black goblins are at work too._

 _Accept this mission request?_

 _Yes  
No_

I press 'yes' and slip my ID back in my back pocket. A mission request will be sent to my boss and it will be his call if I— if _we_ can go on the mission or not. I better get used to using "we", now that I have a partner. In the meantime, I should get my bag from Rufus' office and turn in for the day.

* * *

 _Ah… Home sweet home_. I thought to myself as I plop on my bed. _If Tifa's power requires blood, then I have to stack up on blood packs. I don't want to offer my-_ I gulp. _-neck again._

My mind flashes back to her saying "Okay…B-b-but you have to turn around." and I blush.

 _Why didn't I notice her before? Arghh!_ I shake my head. _No, no, no, no, no!_ Just the thought of it made me hit my face with my palm several times. I go to the bathroom and wash my face, then went to lie down again.

* * *

 _Huh?_ I must've dozed off. _Wait, this is my old room._

I stand and examine my surroundings. I see a familiar face sitting on my balcony's ledge.

"Hey Cloud," He said as I walked towards him. "Wanna go on an adventure?"

"What about our parents?" I ask. I can't change my answer, it has always been like that ever since these nightmares started coming.

"We'll be fine and besides, we'll be back in no time." He says with a goofy smile

"Hmm… I don't know…"

"C'mon let's go and have an adventure. You know, just like in the movies!"

 _This is a bad idea…_

* * *

My eyes shot open and my stomach grumbles. _I fell asleep and I skipped dinner, again._ I stretch and rub my eyes. I walk up to my fridge and check if I have any leftovers. I frowned at contents. An almost empty milk carton, a pitcher of water and… just those. I sigh. _I guess, I'll be eating instant food again._

"You're up late."

I turn and see Vincent coming out from his room.

"Go to your room and sleep, vampire."

It's a joke, he's not a vampire. He's just a human who really needs to sleep, just look at his eyes, most of the whites are turning red and judging from his paleness, I often joke about his appearance, but it worries me that he looks anemic.

"You heading to two-hundred forty-seven?"

I nod. "You do know that it's read as twenty-four seven, right?"

Twenty-four seven is a 24-hr convenience store conveniently located at the corner of our street and I constantly thank the heavens for it because the next convenience store is two blocks away. I don't want to walk all the way there in the middle of the night just when I do a caffeine run.

He takes his wallet out. "Whatever. Can you buy me milk?"

"I will if you go to bed early."

"I need it so I can go to sleep."

"Fine."

* * *

I went out and gave Vincent his milk before I went back to my room, placed the instant noodles on the counter and stored the rest in my fridge. Halfway done with the noodles, I pull my ID out to check if Rufus finally accepted my mission request. I frown. _Nothing changed._ I think as I throw it on my bed and continue eating.

I examine my ID again as I lie on my bed and saw "PARTNER " on the bottom right of my screen. I press and my ID shows Tifa's Details. There was only detail filed, her age. It wasn't surprising, seeing as she only joined this afternoon.

 _I'm not surprised. She just joined this afternoon._

I yawn, pull the covers up to my neck, and went to sleep.

* * *

I stand and stretch my arms. My watch reads 9:04 am which means I've been awake and waiting for two hours now. _Rufus sure is taking his time._ I sit back down and check my ID. _He still hasn't accepted my request._ I sigh. My partner is also nowhere to be seen. _Where in the world are they?_ As if on cue, I hear the door open.

"Finally!" I mutter to myself before greeting my boss: "Good morning." My partner enters just after him, holding two coffee cups.

"Ah, I knew you'd be here already." He starts, "Here, I brought you coffee as a peace offering." Tifa hands me the coffee before sitting at the opposite side of the couch.

"I worked overtime last night." He says proudly as he made his way towards his desk. Once he sat down, he puts his feet up and announces, "Look! My desk is finally clean."

Someone knocks on our door and Rufus flinches before he put his feet down. "Come in."

A girl carrying a stack of papers enters the room and places it on his desk.

He frowns, "I thought I could take a day off."

He then takes his ID out and fiddles with it. "Hmm…" he says stroking his chin.

"I haven't approved your mission request, yet. You'll have to take Tifa to the weapons department, first. Then I'll check if you're good to go."

I turn to Tifa and say, "Take your coffee, we're heading there now."

She was about to stand when Rufus decided to say, "Can't we all just chill for a bit? We just finished our tour of the building. I'm pretty sure that she's exhausted."

I shake my head in disappointment. _Damn. I've been really itching to go on a mission so I can finally take next week off._

She smiles, "I-"

"You know, Cloud." He says cutting her off, "I'm surprised when Tifa said you haven't talked to each other before."

"Didn't you get it out of the context, when I told you: _I don't talk much in class._ "

"Well, I didn't think it would be up to _that_ extent."

He smiles wickedly, "Or maybe it's because you have trouble talking to girls?"

"I don't have trouble talking to girls. I just don't want to talk to people for no apparent reason."

"So Tifa… Did you ever think that Cloud would be in this line of work? Like being a secret agent and stuff."

I grunt and lean back. _What are you on to Rufus? Why the sudden interest with my personal life?_

"Well, no. But some people think he's either secretly in a gang or secretly a model."

I choke on my coffee as soon as the word model left her mouth, earning an "Are you okay?" from her and a laugh from Rufus.

 _Me being in a gang? That I get. But me, a model, nope._

"A model, huh? So, which one did you believe?"

 _Okay, that's it. I've had enough of your bullshit._ I stand and turn to Tifa, who's cheeks are bright red. "Just go to the weapons department when you finish your coffee."

"Don't you want to hear her answer?" Lazy Prince says teasingly.

I just grunt and walk away.

"Wait! I'll go with you."

* * *

I slide my ID on the scanner then type my code into the keypad. A beep signals the elevator's arrival. The doors slide open and we enter. Inside, a laser scans us before a panel opens and reveals the floor buttons. I press the weapons department floor number and wait for the door to close.

In the Weapons Dept. floor lies the weapons lab, where they develop blueprints, weapons factory, where they create the weapons, various training rooms, and the weapons store.

"Hi, Cid. I see you've been doing well." I say leaning against the counter.

"I ain't givin' you a discount. Anyways," He examines at Tifa from head to toe then turns towards me again. "Who's the chick?"

"My partner."

"Your partner!?" he laughs, "I thought you fly solo?"

"Lazy Prince has been bugging me to get one, so I did."

I turn to Tifa. "Tifa, this is Cid Highwind. Cid, Tifa Lockhart."

He flashes a smile and extends his hand, which she politely shakes. "So… where'd you find her?" he says still shaking her hand.

"We go to the same school."

He lets her go and examined me before turning towards her again. "Ah… so, missy, you going out with someone?" He asks with a crazy smile.

She shakes her head aggressively and waves her hands in front of her.

He turns to me and whispers, "You gonna make a move on her, kid?"

 _First Rufus. Now Cid. Why do people want me to have a thing for her? Seriously, what is up with these people?_

I sigh and shake my head. "Now, why would I do that?"

"Ah! The right question is, why wouldn't you?"

I try to think of an answer but came up with nothing.

He gives me a smug smile before changing the subject. "So, still got no codename?"

I shake my head. "Got new stuff?"

"Ah… I've been saving this for you." He gets something under his counter and presents it to me. "Desert Eagle, here's yer ammo. Oh, and your sword just got delivered last night. I'll go get it."

"Oh, and get me 5 vials of sleep serums. I used my last one yesterday." I shout just before he disappears.

"So…" I turn around. "How does the glove work? I mean, you said you can summon things with it, but in what way? And where's the other pair?" Tifa says with an eyebrow up.

I take the gun from the counter and raise it as the same level as my head. I release my grip with the intent to dismiss the gun and it disappears. "I don't know where it goes and I don't know who has the other glove."

"Oh…"

"Here you go." I hear Cid say from behind.

"Yes!" I grab my buster sword, examine it, and place it in my inventory along with the syringes and bullets on the counter. I give him my ID which also serves as a credit card.

"Oh and uh, can you give her a weapon too?"

He signals her to come forward. "What weapon do you prefer? We have guns, ninja stars, swords, rapiers, spears…"

"Hmmm… what do you use to defend yourself?" I ask.

"I know martial arts."

I turn to Cid. "What now?"

"Meet me at Training Room E. I think I know what to give her."

"Okay. Follow me, Tifa."

* * *

There are 20 training rooms in this floor, and each of them is equivalent to a basketball court in size. You can tweak the training simulations from different levels of difficulty, to species, or to specific codenamed creatures. Everyone has to be careful with the settings, though. The monsters you'll be facing may be fake, but the pain you'll feel will be real.

We enter the training room and I adjust the brightness of the lights from the panel beside the door. I take a couple of simulation headgears from the compartment below the panel and toss her one.

"For you to see the simulation." I say, guessing that she'll ask what it is for. "Mind if a train for a bit?"

"No," she answers "go ahead."

I adjust the settings and summon my buster sword. The hologram of the Coach appears.

"Hey, that's the guy we fought-"

"Yes, I'm just checking if I could've defeated him without your help now that I have my sword again and also now I know what he is."

I charge. Just as expected, it snarls and bares its teeth. Wait a minute, I remember Rufus said that he's an asp! Asps, have jewels on their forehead, to retrieve the said jewel with fighting the beast, you must first put it into sleep by singing to it.

 _"Hush little asp-y don't say a word. Cloud is gonna kill you with a buster sword."_

To avoid being lulled into sleep, asps press one ear on the ground then plug the other using its tail. _Coach_ roars and blocks my song with its tail. I smile and continue singing. _"If that buster sword gets broke. Cloud is gonna kill you with a gun instead."_ I leap and aim my sword on its neck. "GOOD RIDDANCE!"

I dismiss my sword and heave a sigh. Someone claps slowly from behind and I expected it to be Tifa but it was Cid. "Trying to show off to the lady, eh?"

"What!? No way." I protest but he just laughs.

I go near the panel and lean against the wall with arms crossed. "Here you go missy." he says handing Tifa black leather gloves and black sneakers which looked pretty much like a Converse. "Kid, give her three level 5 gargoyles."

I wait for her to get in the middle of the room before I push the start button. "What did you give her?"

"Something that would protect her skin; its material is made from dragon and salamander skin making it ice and fire proof."

"Why would she need that?"

"Just trust the expert."

I grunt and switch my focus on Tifa. Just a short time has passed and she's almost done. She dodges the claw of the gargoyle, grabs it by the arm, tosses it over her shoulder and pins it on the ground. She stomps on its head and the hologram disappears.

Cid takes the headgear off with one hand and pats my back with the other, "Yer almost good to go."

"Why? I think she did good back there. Well… A lot better than I expected." I say with a smug smile.

"You need to do something…" he points towards Tifa's direction. "… 'bout _that._ "

My happiness turns to shock as I turn and see her lying on the ground gasping for air. I rush to her side and hear Cid leave the room.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" I ask while scanning for injuries.

"Just… winded. That's all."

I heave a sigh.

"Umm… did Rufus give you more of those blood packs?"

I hit my forehead. _I forgot to ask for blood packs._ "I'll go and get you some. Be right back."

* * *

I head back to the training room holding a blood pack and a straw. Tifa is still in the same position as I left her. I kneel beside her and give her the blood pack which she sucks dry.

"Feeling better?" I ask.

"Yeah… thanks." She says sitting up.

I stand and offer her a hand. "Time to head back to Lazy Prince's office."

She dusts herself off, "Who's 'Lazy Prince'?"

 _Oh right… I haven't told her about that._ I chuckle. "Rufus. Wait, he still hasn't explained to you what the significance of codenames?"

"He has. I just thought that Lazy Prince is another person." She says taking the gear off.

"Oh… But we only call him that behind his back, so be careful not to call him that in person."

We hear the door hiss open and see Lazy Prince walk in, carrying a standard SOLDIER sword.

"Speak of the devil." I say with a smug smile.

He walks towards us and looks at Tifa from head to toe. " _Just_ gloves?"

"He gave me shoes too."

"Oh. What's it made of?"

"Uh.."

"Dragon and salamander skin." I add.

"Hm," he walks up to the panel and adjusts the settings. "You'll be fighting against several level 30 green goblins and one level 60 black goblin, setting similar to your mission."

He tosses me a 'gear'.

"Okay, listen up. Especially you, Tifa." _Whoa, he sounds like a boxing coach._

"Green goblins specialize in machines and have low defense. Their melee attacks are equally weak but beware of bombs, traps, and the like. They are cunning and will read your movements if you use the same technique over and over again. Black goblins, on the other hand, are smarter and are better in combat. Not to mention that they're quicker and their skins are tougher. If you want to put them to sleep using a tranquilizer gun, you'd have to shoot it in close range. Going melee is usually the best choice against them."

He turns towards my partner, "Tifa, you use hand-to-hand combat, right? This should be easier for you, unlike Cloud…" he then towards me, "Whose close range weapon choice is a huge-ass buster sword or a long-ass spear."

I grunt and glare at him. "You didn't have to put it that way."

"Oh~ how I enjoy pissing you off!"

He hands me the sword and smiles, "I knew that your buster sword will be ineffective against goblins."

He pats both of our backs and says "Good luck."

And we put the 'gear' on our heads.

* * *

AN: Sorry for making you wait for chapter 2. I made the chapter a bit longer than the first one to make up for it.

If you like the story…  
Don't forget to share the love with xXxAnGeLFLoNnExXx, my wonderful beta!

Reviews fuel the fire of motivation. Keep the fire burning, my dear reader.


	3. Simulation

Chapter 3: Simulation

* * *

We put the gear on and the scene shifts. Suddenly, we're not in the training room anymore, but in an empty cornfield. I hear a bird squawk and look up and squint at the glaring sun. Even though we're still in the training room, I can really feel the difference in atmosphere. I've been using the training facilities ever since I got here and still amazes me how real the simulations feels. Dragonflies are flying around on the field to my left, while a scarecrow stood in the middle of an unharvested cornfield on my right.

 _I wonder if Tifa's just as amazed as I am. If someone knocked you out before putting you in this simulation, then you would actually believe that you are brought to a remote area._

"Cloud…" I turn to her, "We're still in the training room, right?"

I nod. "What if we run into the wall?"

"We won't."

I rotate a full 360 degrees and scan the area. We were in the middle of a path towards a barn, which I hope is really a barn, I can't tell much because of a small hill obscuring everything but the roof. Aside from that and the unharvested crop fields, there's nothing else.

"There!" I say pointing to the red dots perfectly lined together. "Those red lights indicate that you're close to the walls. Take a step further, and the simulation ends."

"Oh… so what are we going to do now? There is no sign of goblins, here."

I scratch the back of my head, "They're probably at the barn up ahead."

The path is split into a Y. One leads to the barn and the other leads to a house which was beyond the red lines. _A display to add to the feeling of authenticity of the simulation._

"I smell blood. Cow's blood to be exact." Tifa says as we reach the top of the hill.

My eyes widen and I drop to the ground.

She raises an eyebrow, "What're yo-"

"Get down." I order, keeping a close eye on the barn.

I scan the barn. _There's probably two entrances, one on this side and one on the other, or maybe just this one. We'd be overpowered if we fight inside that barn but how do we lure them out?_

"Soo… What's the plan?" she whispers.

"Lure them out."

* * *

Back when I still did missions with a chaperone, I remember they taught me how to use a flashbang, during a mission against orcs. My chaperone's name is Veld, but I never called him by his name. I either referred to him as, 'sir' or 'mister'. We had just found their hideout and were preparing for an attack. It was 2 against five. I thought we didn't stand a chance.

We were peeking from the entrance. Veld was on one side and I was on the other.

"Cloud," he says turning towards me, "Remember the black canister I gave you before we left the building?"

I nod.

"Give it to me."

I summon it and toss it to him.

"Now, when I throw it in, cover your ears and don't look inside."

I raise an eyebrow and he chuckles.

"It's a flash bang. It will stun and confuse our enemies then we go and knock them out. It'll only last for a few seconds, so we have to be quick."

I nod and he throws it in.

* * *

"Lure them out with what?"

"Maybe not lure them out… but take them out…" I look at her and smile. "With a bang."

She raises an eyebrow as if I said something weird and says "What?" while trying to stifle an awkward laugh.

I shake my head. "Nevermind… Follow me."

We stealthily make our way to the barn, avoiding the door. With our backs against the wall, I summon the flash bang and peer inside. I count 20 green goblins but there's probably more. Most of them are happily feasting on the cows while some are passed out, probably from fullness.

She tugs on my sleeve. "You know… You still haven't told me the plan."

"Sorry…" I say turning to her.

Big mistake. Her face is a few inches from mine. I couldn't help but gulp the lump forming in my throat and avert my eyes as if the patch of grass was more interesting than her face.

"T-T-This is a flashbang. It'll stun them for at least 10-20 seconds. We'll take advantage and knock them out before they regain their bearings."

I take a peek again and take a deep breath. I give Tifa a nod before pulling the pin and throwing the canister.

I cover my ears.

 _3…2…_

 _Shit. I forgot to tell her to cover her ears._

I take my hands off my ears and cover hers instead before, closing my eyes.

And the bomb goes off. I didn't see the flash but I did hear the bang, the very loud bang.

I feel something come out of my ears but didn't pay any attention to it and just uncover Tifa's ears and check the time. 10:14:34.

We have approximately 20 seconds. "Let's go." I say.

She grabs my arm, her brows furrowed together. Even though I can't hear her, I read "Are you okay?" escape her lips.

I unsheathe the sword Rufus gave me and summon the desert eagle.

"I'll be fine don't worry." I say with a smile hoping it would reassure her and charge.

I've got to admit it's hard to pretend that your fine when you have this constant ringing sound in your ears and your head feels like a gorilla is pounding your head.

10:14:41. I blink hard and shake my head.

 _Start shooting, Cloud._

I do my best to avoid their vital spots. Aiming only on their legs and arms. I can just kill them, because they're just simulations but… this also serves as practice for the real thing. In the field, we're encouraged to avoid casualties. And besides, they'll be recruited by Cid or someone from the research and development department.

I count as I hack and shoot the goblins. I've taken down 9 of them, not bad considering my throbbing head and the ringing in my ears. The other thing I'm concerned about is the black goblin that has yet to show its face.

The goblins are still in a daze making it easier for us to knock them out. _I guess Rufus wasn't kidding about the low defense._

I glance over at Tifa who just finished putting the last green goblin to sleep. I dismiss the sword and reload the desert eagle before I replacing it with a blood pack and a straw. "Tifa…" I say offering her the blood.

I froze as she takes the blood and I feel a blade sink into the back of my right thigh.

 _Don't tell me this is…_ I turn and see a black goblin with an evil smile plastered on its face. It quickly pulls the blade from my leg and jumps backward as I tried to shoot it.

I've been stabbed before, on my arm, my back, my shoulder… But I don't recall feeling a burning sensation around the stab wound. _This is bad… We should get out of this barn. We're more susceptible to a surprise attack here._

Tifa cups my cheeks. "Hey…" she says softly.

I force a smile even though I feel the excruciating pain from my leg.

"We have to get out of here." I say through gritted teeth. "The black goblin is…"

My eyes widen as I see the damn goblin creeping behind her.

I pull Tifa closer and shoot it. It dodges and disappears again.

"Damn it." I mutter to myself and heave a sigh.

She pushes me and takes a step back "What's up with you?" she says irritatingly.

"We'll be more susceptible to surprise attacks in here so we have to get out."

I take a step towards the door and wince. _Damn simulation and its 'so accurate even the pain feels real' mechanic._

"Cloud, you're blee-"

"If get hurt here, you'll feel it but when you take the gear off, you'll see that your body is not really injured." I take a deep breath and continue making my way towards the barn's exit, "It's part of the simulation so I'm not really wounded."

I summon a syringe of painkiller. "I'll be fine. Don't worry." I give her a small smile and inject my thigh with the fluid, "C'mon. It'd be bad if we fail this simulation."

* * *

We reach the open and wait for the black goblin to leave the barn. It peeks out of the barn door and smiles as it spots us.

I summon two syringes of sleep serum and toss her one. "Let's put the little guy to sleep."

It makes a mad dash towards us. I summon the basic SOLDIER sword and wait for it to reach us. I have the sword at my right, a syringe at the other, and a partner who's good at close-combat, I couldn't help but think " _This little shit is going to pay for stabbing me."_

* * *

The field dissolves along with the black goblin. Tifa successfully injected the serum into the hologram's neck. I take the gear off and blink hard as I look up at the ceiling. _It's finally over._

I heave a sigh. _This is officially my hardest training simulation._

"How's your leg?" Rufus says as he walks towards us.

I poke my leg and feel nothing. "Still numb."

He walks past me and pats my partner's back. "Great job, Tifa."

He turns to me and says, "As for you Cloud, you could've done better."

"What were you thinking when you threw that stun grenade without telling her to cover her ears when you do so and you could've burned the whole barn when you threw that!?"

 _Whoa whoa whoa… Calm do-_

He walks towards me and tilts my head sideways. "Tch. Your ears bled when that bomb detonated. I bet you didn't even hear what she said when you entered the barn?"

I just stared at a spot and the floor. I couldn't look at him, rather, I was scared to look at him.

You see… Rufus has been my boss ever since I got recruited (that's probably the best term since I had no choice but join this company). We've never been on a mission; he just sends someone from the Turks in his stead. Even though that's the case, I remember the first time I made him angry.

* * *

I woke up in a hospital room feeling groggy. I noticed that I have been lying on my side. I also noticed a fruit basket on my bedside table to my right, and an IV stand was next to it. I follow the clear tubes from the IV to my right arm. Good thing, I was I unconscious when they injected that because I'm not a big fan of needles.

I also hear muffled voices from the other side of the door. But the worst thing I've noticed is my left arm was bandaged up. _Oh, right… I did_ that _during the mission._ Rufus walks in. He gives me a small smile before sitting beside me.

"How are you?" he says as he pats my head gently.

I tried to smile. "I'm in a hospital and I probably still have a lot of anesthesia in my system so… I'm guessing… I'm not okay?"

He forced himself to laugh. "You're going to be fine, okay?"

I didn't hear the door open but I did see Veld enter the room. He gives me a small nod. Rufus turns to him and his face scrunches up. He walks up to him and grabs him by the collar.

"Rufus…" I croak. "Don't take it out on him."

I couldn't make out what he told Veld but I could tell as much that he's very angry at him. When he shouldn't be, because I was determined to take the blow from the orc for Veld. I wanted him to come home to his daughter in one piece. I mean he's the only family she has.

"Rufus… Please…"

"No, Cloud. I sent him to go with you so you wouldn't… you wouldn't…" his face darkened.

"It's not his fault, okay? I-"

Veld cuts me off, "Cloud, it's okay. I was supposed to protect you. I failed."

"No! Don't take the blame, Veld. I knew about the consequences when I stood in between you and that orc! Don't beat yourself up because of it."

Rufus released his grip and marched towards me. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, CLOUD!?" He stood there gritting his teeth. "WHAT IF YOU DIDN'T MAKE IT!? HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO TELL YOUR PARENTS THAT THEY LOST THEIR SON YET AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME FOR GOOD!?"

I couldn't answer him. The aftereffects of anesthesia were partly to blame but mostly because I was afraid. I was a groggy 12 year-old, lying in bed and Rufus was a furious big brother.

He looks up and shouts "AAAARGH!" before punching a hole on the wall.

* * *

I cringe as I remember that night making Rufus release me.

"Cloud…" he says sternly. "Do you _want_ to know what she said when you charged in?"

I shake my head.

"Good."

 _What does he mean by that?_ I look at Tifa and raise an eyebrow. She flinches as we make eye contact and we both look away. _Damn. Why does she make me feel so uneasy?_

He looks at her then back at me, "Soo… I'm guessing you're still not accustomed to having a 'partner _'_."

"Is it because you're used to being alone or…" he leans closer and whispers," It's because you have a _thing_ for her?"

I gulp and take step backward. "You're delusional."

He chuckles "So the latter, then?"

"Ugh…" An angry Rufus is _a lot better_ than _this_.

He smiles. The bastard knows he's ticking me off.

"Give Tifa a blood pack." He taps my shoulder and walks towards the panel, "I'll let have a go at it again and I hope you will communicate with her this time. I won't tell you how many you'll be facing so be ready."

"Oh, just keep in mind that black goblins usually use poison on their blades." He says before pushing the button.

"Try not to get stabbed."

* * *

AN: Hello~

Thank Innocent Lives for his/her review. I probably wouldn't have finished this chapter without it.  
And of course, also don't forget my beta, xXxAnGeLFLoNnExXx. I would've finished the chapter but I wouldn't publish it without her go signal.

IDK if anybody actually reads the AN at the bottom of my chapters but if you are one of those who do, review "Flashbang! Flashbang!" and let me know. :)


	4. Egg

AN:

 **DISCLAIMER:** The goblin trio scene is a parody of that scene from RADIATA STORIES, which was created by Tri-Ace and Published by Square Enix.

See you at the end-chapter AN.

* * *

Chapter 4: Egg

* * *

I set the empty glass on the table and mumble "Ah… that hits the spot." as I sink into the lounge chair. I just finished eating lunch with Rufus and Tifa.

I took Lazy Prince's advice on communicating with my partner but I still got stabbed. In fact, I was stabbed multiple times by 'Fox', a coded black goblin and got hit by a bomb thrown by 'Shit', a coded green goblin. Fox, like his name, is as agile as a fox, while Shit is named Shit because you'll either say "Shit!" or just shit yourself when you get hit by his bomb or better yet, my favorite, "I'm gonna kill that little shit."

If I had known that there were Coded to watch out for, I would've been more cautious in the simulation. Thus, sparing me from the excruciating pain.

Eyeing my left arm, Tifa frowns "Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

"I feel a lot better because of this very delicious lunch, courtesy of our _amazing_ boss." I say as I smile at Rufus and move my eyebrows up and down.

He fakes a smile "You know you're like a _baby_ brother, to me."

"Oh, please," I scoff, "you're old enough to be my father."

The corner of his lips twitch and he turns to Tifa still wearing the same fake smile. "We look like brothers, right?" he says as he cracks his knuckles loudly.

She laughs nervously.

 _She's probably thinking we're both crazy. Which is true… for Rufus._

A tall, raven-haired man wearing a sleek black suit approaches our table.

"Sir." He says lowering his head.

I thought he was one of the waiters for this fancy restaurant but instead of pulling out his wallet, Lazy Prince just sighs before gesturing the man to come closer with his index finger. The man leans and whispers something to Rufus, whose face darkened.

"A Turk." I hear Tifa mumble to herself as she takes a sip from her cola.

Turks is this special group that operates under the Shinra Corporation. Their missions range from assassination to espionage (ehem, let's just keep that between you and me). Speaking of Turks, Veld is (or maybe, was) a Turk. Uhh… I'm not really sure. It's been years since I last saw him. Since he and many other Turks chaperoned me before, I think protecting or following Lazy Prince's or President Shinra's orders is also part of their job description. Kinda like the things you see in the spy movies, but minus the chicks and the sexy time.

Speaking of chicks, a short female Turk came after the other guy who's still hasn't finished talking to Rufus. But she didn't approach the two to add more news but just stood there with a stoic look on her face. She has short blonde hair and sports the same black suit and tie as the other guy.

Her eyes widen as she catches me examining her and looks away. Feeling awkward, I shift my attention towards the empty plates on the table and try to think of distractions, hoping that it would quell the sudden rush of blood towards my cheeks.

 _I have a history paper I need to write. Yeah… I'll think about that…_

The male Turk's phone rings, bringing me back to reality.

"Excuse me, sir." He says before leaving us.

Rufus clears his throat, "Unfortunately, I cannot accompany you on your first mission together. Tseng," he points to the male Turk with his thumb "and Elena" he nods towards the female Turk "will escort you to your first mission in my stead. You'll be on your own when they drop you off, since they have another assignment."

"Sir, we-"

Tseng silences Elena by raising his hand.

 _Whoa. When did he get there?_

He gives her a stern look before nodding and turning towards us. "We'll wait for you by the parking lot."

I give him a nod before turning to Tifa, "Shall we go?"

"You kids are leaving without having dessert?" Rufus coos.

"Uh… Thanks for the offer, sir but I think it's best if we get going." Tifa says giving him a sheepish smile but I just rolled my eyes.

He just chuckles at her remark. "Oh, you don't have to call me, sir. I told you before you can just call me by my name."

Tseng says "Sir, Rude called me with more news about the p-" making Rufus stand and put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

Lazy prince laughs nervously and glances at his watch. "Look at the time! You kids should really get going."

Sensing that whatever Tseng wanted to say was top secret, I nod towards Rufus and turn towards Tifa. "He's right. We should go."

She nods and we say goodbye.

* * *

Just below the weapons department, is the armory. Where we can buy armor and pick-up company funded -you guessed it- disguises. They are essential in most missions since we need to "eliminate the threat discreetly". They vary from students to corporate executives even to hobos.

My partner and I walk out of the building hauling matching mountain bikes. We see Tseng and Elena conversing just a bit further.

I clear my throat. "So uh… Are we ready to go?"

They examine both of us before nodding to each other. Tseng presses a button in his keys and the car makes a _toot toot_ sound. He takes the bike from Tifa and both girls climb aboard the car and we follow soon after we strap the bikes unto the back of the car.

I plug in my earphones into the socket on my phone and recline on the car's comfy leather seats. Tseng is driving while Elena sat in the shotgun seat. Tifa sits behind her, sporting black cargo pants and a white shirt. I wore something similar, except my shirt was light blue. We were to pose as travelers and camp out on the fields without raising any suspicion because a lot of travelers pass by the area and do the same thing.

I think it's weird that we're using a car instead of the usual helicopter. Well, I'm sure there a reason why and they probably think I already know why. To avoid sounding like an idiot, I'm not going to ask.

I feel Tifa tap my shoulder.

"Yeah?" I answer taking the left earbud off.

"So… How do you find time to study?"

"I usually don't."

Her eyes widen. "Really?"

"Yeah… I usually spend my free time sleeping."

"No way… But your grades are better than mine!"

"Hmm… I never really noticed."

She sighs and mutters something under her breath. All I could make out was "thought" and "cute" which made me lift an eyebrow and tilt my head. She looks back at me, making me jump and my heart skip. I shift my focus towards the blurry buildings outside the car window.

Let me clear this up. Contrary to popular belief (based on Rufus and Cid's opinion), I'm not attracted to her. I'm just not good with eye contact, especially from people I'm not close with. And in my point of view, Tifa is merely an acquaintance so any eye contact with her would still make me uneasy.

"So Cloud…" she says breaking the silence once again. "What's your secret?"

 _I thought this conversation was already over._

I sigh. "I don't have one."

"Well, I study a lot. I even study with the smartest kid in class! So I find it hard to believe that you don't study at all."

I frown. _What is her deal? I really don't why my grades are good. I just answer the stuff that pops I my head. Since she's been blabbing about grades…_

"I don't even know what's my class standing is. All I care about is: not failing."

"You're in second place, just below my best friend, Aerith Gainsborough."

"Oh… Wow… So I'm guessing you're third?"

She nods.

"Okay… Then I won't answer much in next exams, if that makes you feel better."

"No!"

I feel my heart skip again, this time from shock.

"Um… I mean… Don't do that."

"Nah… I just want to pass. I don't care if I'm in the honor roll or not. So, yeah, It's fine."

"No. No. No. You don't have to. I just wanted to know if you have some kind of trick that helps you study better. I don't want second _that_ badly."

"Uhh…" Elena chips in. "It's going to take while before we reach the drop-off. I suggest you guys get some sleep. You don't want to fight those goblins exhausted."

We heed her advice and got some shut eye.

* * *

It took about a kilometer to reach the small farm from the drop off. Soon after was a bigger farm then another big farm. I check the time 4:54pm and slow down so Tifa and I could be side by side.

"I see a town just farther down the path," I say taking small quick glances, "I think we should turn around and camp out by the middle farm."

She just nods.

* * *

A salt and pepper haired man, probably in his 50s, opens the door.

"Hello, sir." I say with a fake warm smile.

"Yes?" he answers with an obvious thick country accent.

"My name is Chris and…"

 _Oh crap. Should I say sister? Cousin? G-G-Girlfriend?_

Tifa clears her throat snapping me out. "I'm Tiffany, I'm his-"

"travel buddy." I interject.

I wait for his face to turn sour and catch our lie, but his expression remained stoic.

"Would you mind if we camped out in your farm? We've come a very long way and we won't ask anything else from you, just a place to set up our tents."

He furrows his brows. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

I gulp down the lump in my throat. _This is bad…_

"You see…" he says frowning, "There's a thief on the loose, they've stolen farm equipment from the other farms and even killed some of their farm animals and it'd be bad if they ransacked your tent while you sleep outside. If you must rest, I have an extra room that you can share."

"Oh no. No. No. No." Tifa says defensively. "We'll be fine just camping outside."

"Dear, I won't mind if you youngsters use the guest room."

We smile sheepishly. _What now? We won't be able to carry out the mission if we stay in. They'll think we've done something wrong if we go missing._

"We're actually fonder of sleeping in tents than on beds." Tifa says trying to convince the man once again.

"Yes, well… Missy, as I've said before…" he says in a calm tone, "There is a thief on the loose. The sheriff said there's a high possibility that they'll strike our farm tonight or tomorrow night since they robbed Jarod's farm last night and they robbed Agatha's the night before that and my farm is the only farm in this side of town that's yet to be robbed. And-"

"We're full aware of it and are willing to face the consequences. Heck, we'll even guard your tools and animals for you."

 _C'mon, mister. Just let us sleep in your backyard and get rid of the damn goblins so we could finally go home._

The man sighs, "Well, if you insist…"

"Thank you." We say in unison.

He smiles softly, "Don't hesitate on knockin' on our door if you need anything."

I give him a small nod and smile.

We walk down from his porch and haul our bikes towards his huge backyard.

* * *

It didn't take long for the sun to disappear when we finished setting up the tent. The farm's owner, Felix Jenkins and his wife Pearl, were very generous and even gave us cornbread. Correction, _delicious cornbread._

We sat on the picnic blanket we placed next to the tent's entrance and munched on the cornbread. I take my phone out and give Rufus an update on our current situation.

"So… how long are we going to wait for them to appear?" Tifa says as she takes the last cornbread from the basket.

"Hmm… since the local authorities have predicted they'll strike here next, all we have to do is to pay attention and try to be on our feet as fast as we can."

"Oh… Okay." She says before standing and stretching.

I stifle a yawn and check the time.

7:43pm. Still too early to go to bed.

I heave a sigh and summon a "Chocobo Stomp!".

"I'll take first watch. I'll wake you when something happens or if it's your turn." I say before I take a swig of the strawberry flavored energy drink I just summoned.

"Hey… um… Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"Aren't those banned? Since… You know they caused a lot of deaths." she says pointing to my beverage.

I chuckle. "Those people died because they drank too much. I'm just going to drink one."

"Oh…" she hums.

"Well then… Goodnight, Cloud."

I reply to her smile with a small nod before taking another swig.

"Sweet dreams, Teef." I say as she zips up the tent.

* * *

I feel the effects of the caffeine die down and I knew it was time for me to get some shut eye.

"Tifa…" I say while gently shaking her leg.

No response.

"Hey…"

Still no response.

"Tifa…"

"5 more minutes, dad."

"I'm not your dad."

I hear her inhale sharply and she quickly sits upright.

"Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." She says quickly.

"Hey…" I say calmly, "Are you still half asleep?"

"No."

I tilt my head to the side. _Did I misjudge her? Is she actually cray cray?_

She heaves a sigh. "I'm usually hard to wake. I'm sorry if you've been trying to wake me up for the past couple of minutes. Did I kick you or anything?"

 _Oh…_

I give her a small smile. "Nah… Don't worry. You just called me dad."

Her eyes widen and her cheeks redden. I chuckle.

I check the time, 2:37 am. _I really need to sleep._

"Tifa…"

"Yeah?"

"Can we switch places?"

"Oh… Right. Sorry." She says; her eyes widening once again.

She crawls towards me and this time, my eyes were the ones who expanded. I gulp the lump down my throat and skootch to the side as she got closer to the exit of the tent.

 _Calm down._ I order my heart. _Calm down. It's just Tifa._

I rush inside once she got out and zip up the tent. I immediately curl inside the sleeping bag and doze off.

* * *

My eyes shot open as I hear a Chocobo cry out and rush to open the tent's zipper.

A set of ruby eyes greet me.

She gasps and backs away from the tent.

"I'm sorry. I didn't notice them enter." She whispers.

"Nah… It's just your first time." I say as I crawl outside.

"That poor chocobo…"

I check the time. _4:17 am. Good… The owners are probably still fast asleep. Let's end this quickly._

I summon a blood pack and give it to Tifa.

We hear their conversation as we got closer.

"Stupid bird. Peaso head still hurt." A gruff voice says.

"Us finish job. Or else fat black one get angry." A shrill voice says.

Just like in the simulation. With our backs against the walls inches from the barn's door, I relay the plan. No flashbangs this time. There are probably other Chocobos that are still alive inside. I summon a tranquilizer gun. I turn to my partner and nod. She adjusts her gloves before giving me the go signal.

 _Two-on-two, green goblins have low defense… We got this in the bag._

We barge in and find two green goblins. One was sitting with its head resting on its hands, another was tying up the Chocobo's legs.

"Drop the rope and step away from the Chocobo." I order.

The one sitting down didn't even flinch but the one by the bird's legs raised its hands up in the air.

"Now take a few steps backward and put your hands behind your back." I order the one near the fowl.

"Tifa… Tie the other one up."

She nods and proceeds to tie the one sitting down. I grab a piece of the rope on the ground and tie the other one up.

"Care to introduce yourselves?" I say as I help the little guy stand.

"I Cheemp. That Peaso. Us Goblin trio."

 _Trio? Where's the-_

"Cretins!"

I turn around and see the third goblin wearing a hat that looks like a totem. He has a knife pointed on the poor bird's neck.

"Set other goblins free or I kill big chicken."

"Don't kill it. How about we can come up with a win-win solution?" I hear my partner say from behind.

"How about we play game for chicken?"

"What game?" I cringe as I hear the words leave her mouth.

 _What the heck is she thinking by negotiating with goblins? I could just shoot the damn goblin if I see the opportunity._

"Categories. Next word starts with the last letter of the word before."

"Okay." she says nodding.

Argh! I shift my weight on one leg and shake my head. I swear I'm doing my best not to shoot her.

"Us first." Says the one pointing the knife, "Insects."

It clears its throat and looks at me with its beady eyes, "Scarab."

"Beetle." Says Peaso, the one Tifa tied up.

We shift our attention to the goblin named Cheemp "E… E… E…" it musters,

It tilts its head to the side and says, "Egg?"

"Ha!" my partner exclaims, "We win. Step away from the Chocobo."

"Two out of three!" says Totem-hat.

"Hey! That's not the deal." I protest.

"Then I kill chicken."

"Don't do that!" Tifa blurts out, "How about another round? But this time, if we win you release the Chocobo."

"Yes. Yes. We keep promises."

"Yeah, right." I mutter to myself.

"You say something?"

"No…"

"Okay! Herbs."

Silence fills the barn as we anticipate Totem-hat's word.

It smiles and says, "Catmint."

"Thyme." Says Peaso.

Our attention shifts to the goblin I tied up, once again.

"E… E… E.. Egg?"

Totem-hat drops the knife and proceeds to beat their comrade along with the one Tifa tied up who got out of his restraints. _She probably didn't tie the knot well._

* * *

 **AN:** Helloo~

Thank you so much for the people who reviewed and to my awesome beta. Shout out to the person who made this story one of his/her favorites.  
I know it's been days but yeah, you made me really happy.

Oh! Just a heads up, summer break just ended and I am now back in college. :(

If you're one of the few people that reads ANs, review: "E…Egg" and let me know.


	5. Ouch

**WARNING:** This chapter is still unchecked by the keen eye of my beta. I cannot spot every error because I am all too familiar with my own work and I might've skimmed over it.

I decided to upload this chapter anyway as my pre-anniversary gift to you guys.

* * *

Chapter 5: Ouch

* * *

I replace the tranq gun with a stun gun instead and fire at the bickering goblins. They soon drop to the ground and flail around like fish out of water.

"Why didn't you just put them into sleep?"

I turn to my partner and raise an eyebrow. "I thought I heard about them talking about a fat black one or was I just imagining things?" _Lack of sleep sometimes does that to you._

"N-n-n-no… It t-t-truth." Totem-hat interjects.

We turn to the still twitching goblin, "B-b-b-big black one live n-n-n-near."

"We o-o-only get s-s-small chicken part." Peaso adds, "Big one g-g-gets rest of chicken."

"Fat one bad to Cheemp – no – to goblin trio."

"Y-y-yes. Big one makes goblin trio kill many big chickenses."

"Where is the black goblin now?" my partner says.

I notify Rufus about our progress as I listen to them blabber on about the whereabouts of the black goblin.

Deciding just asking for directions would take more time, I untie the Chocobo then used the rope to tie the goblins' hand up. I didn't bother to cut the rope up to tiny segments and just it be some kind of leash for us to keep these three in check.

We let them lead us to the black goblin's whereabouts. They looked like a small pack of sled dogs, except these little guys are hairless and… not cute. I know I'm harsh for treating them like sled dogs, or maybe even less (because sled dogs are awesome), but this is the best and the only idea I have.

* * *

We left the barn at 4:48 am and hiked deep into the woods. My watch read 5:03am as we reached the goblin hole. It's far enough not to be seen from the farm but close enough to haul their loot quickly.

According to the goblin trio, the black goblin's name is Burb. Their only reason for sticking with him is because he protects them from 'stupid big hairy men with sharp claws' which in my opinion were just bears and not hairy men.

"Just a little further." Totem hat says as we venture deeper into the hole or rather, _the tunnel_.

We hear something say something which sounded something like a "GOR" or maybe it was "GRR". But we didn't have to see whoever said it just to know he/she/it was big. The ground shook as we got closer to the end of the tunnel.

"Where is those tiny goblinses?" the voice says and we feel the earth shake again. The trio runs past me and hides behind Tifa.

"Big fat one angry." I hear one of them say.

"What taking them long!?"

The ground shakes violently, making me hold on to the tunnel's walls.

 _The damn goblin must be a behemoth._

I peek inside and see the large goblin, probably as tall as basketball hoop and as fat, if not even fatter than the fat Chocobo itself! On its hide were scars, probably from the "hairy men" like the trio told us. In its hand was a wooden club with colorful shards sticking out. The shards look similar to the thing the black goblin used in our simulation. Regardless of the numerous shards sticking out, getting hit by _that_ will kill me or my partner.

I summon a blood pack and hand it to my partner while I think of a way to defeat Burb.

 _Syringe?_

 _Nah… If bear's claws could barely scratch its skin, then needles won't even penetrate its damn skin._

 _Hmm… What if I wound it first then before lodging the needle in the exposed skin?_

 _Yeah… That might work._

I tie the goblin trio with their backs against each other before sending them to sleep with a tranquilizer dart.

I feel a tap on my shoulder then hear my partner whisper, "What's the plan now?"

"Uh… Cut through the its skin before injecting a sleep serum."

"Hmm…" she tilts her head, "Wouldn't it be easier if you just hit its mouth or its eyes with your tranquilizer gun?"

"That could work too."

"I'll provide a distraction." She charges out and yells "Hey ugly!"

The gigantic goblin scans the area and frowns. "Who say that?"

"I did, stupid!" she says waving her hands in the air.

"You're not goblin. You kill tiny goblinses?"

 _Keep your eyes on her. Keep your eyes on her._ I chant in my head as I stealthily leave the tunnel, pacing near the wall.

"I haven't seen any goblins but I bet you're the ugliest and stupidest one there is."

 _What's with the insults? Hmm… It seems to be working so I guess I should just let her._

"I ugly?"

"And also _STOOOO-PIIIIIID_!"

Its nose flares as the word stupid left Tifa's mouth and raise its spiked club. The ground shakes as the club hits the cave's floor. I focus on the club while silently praying that I won't be going home with a lifeless partner.

"HA! Told you you're stupid." I hear her say before the dust cleared, making me sigh in relief.

I was in a good vantage point. Just a bit farther behind Tifa, but close enough to aid her or to shift the monster's attention towards me if ever she becomes unable to battle.

"AAARGH!" It says opening its mouth wide enough for me to aim and shoot.

I wait for the monster to get woozy and drop its club but it didn't. It just hits the floor with its club again followed by another insult from Tifa.

 _Shit. I missed._

The ground shakes again as it misses Tifa for the third time.

I aim and shoot again. _What happened? Did I miss again?_

And again. _Maybe one wasn't enough?_

And again.

And again.

And again. _This is the fourth shot. Why is this guy still standing?_

"Cloud? You… still there? Can you hurry up? Running out of gas here!" She shouts after dodging for the fifth…or maybe the sixth... uh… I lost count.

"Yeah. I've been shooting the guy but it doesn't seem to work."

"WHAT!?" she says dodging another swing. "Should we shift to your plan then?"

"I don't kno-" my eyes widen.

After being out in the field for quite some time, you learn how to read fight patterns your enemies exhibit and find out that some monsters also know how to read these patterns too. Just like this monster, finally reading her movement patterns and it's going to swing sideways.

"Shit." _She's going to get hit!_ I hurriedly replace the gun with my buster sword and charge.

Imagine hitting a tree with an axe. Correction. Imagine hitting a huge-ass tree with a heavy axe. That's what hitting the club felt like.

She gasps as a wave of air blows from the impact.

"Fall back!" I say, tossing her a blood pack.

I was about to pull the sword out of the club when I felt the goblin grab me from behind.

"I got your friend." It boasts, waving me around like a trophy. I tried hitting the guy with my gloveless free hand but to no avail.

It smiles. "Hey! I eat your friend!"

I feel him crush me and I yell my head off. She yells something but my head blurs it out and I see the goblin open its mouth, then its unbrushed teeth. The smell was enough to make my eyes water. As if it wasn't watered enough from the searing pain my body feels.

My upper-half just passed its sharp teeth. I force myself to hold onto the bone lodged between it as it pushes the rest of my body in its mouth. I summon a syringe of sleep serum only for it to roll off its tongue and down to its dark throat.

I focus on moving my gloved hand. _I really need the regeneration to hurry up and kick in already._

I feel my arm slowly responding and I summon another syringe. This time I could hold on to it.

 _Good._ I thought as I dismiss it and replace it with a dagger instead.

 _Okay. I drop down to its tongue and stab it with this dagger with my right then switch my grip to the left so I could inject a couple of syringes and finally put it to sleep._

 _Okay… I can do this._

Everything shakes and I grip the bone just a bit harder. _Damn. This goblin is moving a lot._ _Tifa probably started fighting again, huh? I should really get this over with._

I take a deep breath and drop down.

 _Shit. I'm sliding down fast._

I was just past the uvula when I stabbed its tongue and finally stop sliding.

 _Damn. Just a bit more then I would've been…_ I gulp.

Light penetrates the cave again. Oh wait, this is a mouth.

"AAAHHH!" I hear it shout.

 _Crap. It felt the blade pierce its tongue._

I switch my grip and summon a syringe full of anesthesia. This should numb this area.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

I summon the sixth syringe and pray for it to finally go to bed as I inject the liquid.

 _Still not sleeping? Hmm… I guess lucky 7 might do the trick._

I inject the liquid again and feel everything tilt sideways. _YES! It's finally going to sleep!_

Unfortunately, I failed to realize that if he goes down, I'm going down with it. I tighten my grip on the dagger but I know that I won't be able to hold any longer since my body hurt like hell. Then a loud crash followed as I feel everything shake around me. I lose my grip and I cough out liquid as land on my back. And I'm pretty sure the liquid is _not_ just saliva.

 _Now, I really need to take a week off._ I thought as I slowly attempt to stand. But I feel my body just saying "Nope. You ain't getting up."

"Cloud!" I hear someone call out.

I wanted to answer "here" but my body won't let me. The pain I'm feeling is a lot worse than the one I just labeled _hell_ a while ago. Maybe the adrenaline masking out most of the pain a while ago finally started to fade or maybe the fall added more pain than it could mask. I feel my breathing getting slower so I close my eyes and admit the end.

I feel a hand on my shoulders and I open my eyes. "You're going to be okay."

 _Tseng!_ _Why are you here?_

"You're going to be okay." he repeats, patting my head.

I close my eyes. _Wow. The Turks work fast. The last you see them going off to another mission then they're helping you out in the next._

 _Or maybe… They never left? Maybe they just made it seem like they were headed somewhere else not to raise suspicion but they're actually there to keep an eye out on you without you realizing it. Did Rufus do this knowing there's a huge possibility that I might fail my first mission with a partner?_

 _Oh shit. Will he freak out like last time?_

 _No. We found about my regeneration ability because of that incident. So maybe he won't get mad, knowing that I'll heal eventually?_

 _Shit. I don't know what he'll do._

* * *

"Hey, Cloud. Let's talk to that kid over there."

Back then, most of the people I befriend or just meet are off because of him. He always found a way to keep the conversation going. It's not like I just sit back and let him do everything. I usually steer the topic before Zack gets out of hand. But life would be better if he was still here.

 _Oh how I miss him._

We had just met up after what I often refer to as the beginning of his end. He was subject 2996 and I'm subject 2997. Those numbers were tattooed in bold black on our left wrists. He was his usual cheery self even though I know the numbers hurt a lot. Maybe he's trying his best to cope with the pain without me noticing it. I will never know.

"My name is Zack." He says approaching the silver-haired kid sitting by the corner. "This is my friend, Cloud, and you are?"

The kid looked up. His eyes were blank and he was examined the both of us with the same blankness his eyes had. He's probably feeling a lot worse since he doesn't know anybody. Heck. I'd be the same without Zack.

 _I miss you, buddy._

Zack smiled ear-to-ear, showing the kid that "we come in peace". He elbowed me in the ribs and I force a smile too.

Amused, the kid smirks. "I'm Sephiroth."

* * *

I feel someone stroke my cheek and I slowly open my eyes. At first, Tifa's eyes widened and a small gasp escapes her lips. Shock was later replaced by relief as she smiles sweetly. She's sitting on a stool next to me and her head was resting on top of on her arms which was resting on my bed.

"How are you feeling?" she says, her hand retreating beneath her head.

"Like shit." I say smiling, hoping to ease her worries.

She scoffs. "Figures."

I heave a sigh and close my eyes. _Has she been here ever since they brought me in?_

I open my eyes again and scan the room. A single bag of clear liquid hangs from the IV stand beside my bed. No sign of Rufus or Tseng.

"So Cloud…" she says, tracing circles on my sheets, "Care to tell me what was your nightmare about?"

"Uh…"

She tilts her head. "You mumble in your sleep so I'm worried and a _bit_ curious."

I squint. "Really? Doesn't seem like you're only a _bit_ curious."

"Yeah… I'm _really_ curious. Could you please tell me now?"

I raise my brow. "What exactly did I say in my sleep?"

She smiles. "I'm not going to tell unless you tell what was your dream about."

 _Too bad. I'm not going to tell you._

Her smile turns into a pout.

 _Did she read my mind?_

She looks at the door to her right, then back at me. "I'll be right back."

I raise an eyebrow as she leaves and closes the door after her. _What's up with her? Maybe she smelled blood or something?_

I sigh. _Hmm… Where's my phone._ I scan the room. I turn to my left and see my phone by the bedside table. I try to sit up but I gave up halfway. My back and my chest started to fire up in pain. I decided to just slide my body towards it.

I press the button at the side and my phone lights up. My eyes widen as I see the missed calls and texts from Vincent. Why is Vincent calling and texting me instead of my parents? Because my parents know what I do. They wouldn't let me at first but when they realized that this is the only reason why I still want to live, they finally let me.

As for Vincent, he thinks I'm working part-time at some office and I sometimes go out of town with my boss. He never asked me anything about my job and I never told him anything else.

I swipe the notification that says " _35 missed calls from Vincent."_ I opened my messages next.

 _5:03am_

 _[You up? Going out for breakfast. Wanna join?]_

 _5:05am_

 _[Probably not, huh? Well, I'm going.]_

 _6:37am_

 _[Still not back from work?]_

 _6:48am_

 _[Did you go out of town? Will you buy me a souvenir in exchange for some pancakes?]_

 _7:01am_

 _[Why are you in a hospital?]_

 _7:02am_

 _[What happened?]_

 _7:03am_

 _[Cloud?]_

 _7:04am_

 _[CLOUD?]_

 _7:05am_

 _[CLOUD, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?]_

 _7:11am_

 _[WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME!?]_

 _7:15_

 _[DAMN IT! ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE!]_

The door creaks open. I immediately press the button at the side and watch the screen fade.

"Hey…" I said weakly.

Vincent walks towards me and says "I heard you had food poisoning."

 _So they gave him that excuse._

"Yeah…"

"You could've told me right away! I was worried you got into an accident."

"I'm sorry. I started to feel my stomach churning last night. Then I hadn't had any decent sleep." I say without looking at him.

"Come morning, I woke up then started barfing. And after that all I could ever do was vomit so my boss decided to rush me here." I give him a small smile. "I passed out so I couldn't read or answer your calls."

"I probably shouldn't have over reacted. I even yelled at your boss outside."

My eyes widened and I started laughing. I abruptly stop and wince. _Laughing hurts a lot. It' probably not the best medicine for me._

"Hey… Are you okay?"

I nod and smile. "I can't believe you yelled at him."

He grunts. "You never mentioned working with Tifa before."

My smile turns to shock. _Ah crap. Is he going to tease me too?_

"Yeah. That's because she just started recently."

"Oh…"

"Wait… You know her?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I? We're classmates, after all. Wait, why are you even surprised?"

I scratch my head with my IV-free hand. "I thought we were the same. I only knew her name yesterday."

"You're kidding, right?"

I shook my head.

"No way…" He says mid-gasp.

"Don't tell me you don't know who's Aerith Gainsborough, too?"

 _Aerith… I think Tifa mentioned her before._ "Nope but Tifa did mention her being the smartest kid in class… or something like that."

He shakes his head. "And I thought I was weird."

Someone knocks on the door and our heads turn towards it. It was Rufus. I forgot all about Vincent as my heart rate started to pick up speed.

He takes a deep breath. "I talked to his doctor outside. He said he'll be staying here for tonight, then he'll be discharged tomorrow."

I sigh. _I thought he was going to ask Vincent to leave the room then scold me._

"Hey uh, kid. Can I talk to Cloud in private?"

 _Ah. Spoke too soon._

"Uh… Sure. I'll head home, now." Vincent says with a small nod.

He turns to me, "See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

Rufus sits on the chair beside my bed and we wait for the door to close behind Vincent.

"So…" he propping his elbow on my bed.

 _Shit. Here it come._

"How are you?"

"Uh… I still can't sit-up but I can move my right arm now." I say raising the said arm.

"I'm pretty sure it was broken before. So, I'm a bit better, I guess."

He places an envelope on my lap, which I failed to notice when he came in. "Open it."

I open the flap and pull the contents. It was x-ray results. Broken pelvis. Broken ribs. Broken right arm. I gulp.

"So… uh… How long will it take for them to heal?"

He just shrugs. "Don't worry about that." He says patting my head, "Just rest for now."

"You're not mad?"

"At you? No."

"Then, are you mad at someone else?"

"Maybe." He says looking down on his lap.

He pulls his phone out and fiddles with it. "Maybe not."

"You sent Tseng to monitor us, right? That's why he showed up back then."

He shows me a picture of colorful pebbles in his phone. "Guess."

I frown. "You're dodging the subject."

His eyebrows meet in the middle and says, "Guess." But this time his voice was much deeper.

 _I must've hit the nail on the head._

I take a deep breath and just tried to forget the nagging feeling to press on the previous subject of the conversation.

"M&Ms? Skittles?"

He swipes the photo and shows a pale corpse in a crime scene. There's no blood anywhere, just broken glass.

"Drugs?"

"Bingo."

He swipes the screen again and shows the same colored candy in the plastic bag. "They found it in the victim's possessions."

I raise an eyebrow. "What does it have to do with our line of work? Shouldn't this be a police thing?"

"It is, but we found something odd about the victim. He's ne-"his phone rings. He rolls his eyes as he sees the caller ID and grunts before finally answering the call.

"What!?" his anger melts as he hears the news from the person on the other side.

He covers the mic on his phone, "I'll be right back." He steps out and I examine the X-ray results, once more. _He must've fired Tseng because of this._

I heave a sigh and return the results back in the envelope. _I should probably catch some ZzZs looks like his phone call is going to take a while._


	6. Hero?

**WARNING:** This chapter is still unchecked by the keen eye of my beta. I cannot spot every error because I am all too familiar with my own work and I might've skimmed over it. If you do spot an error, please don't hesitate to tell me.

Here's my anniversary gift for you guys. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6: Hero?

* * *

Staying in a hospital sure is… boring. I got babysat by Rufus all day long. At first I thought, he's was just evading the pile of paperwork back at the office but when I saw him working quietly at the corner of my room, I thought otherwise. He would often stop and stare either on the ceiling, the floor, or a random part of the wall.

While he was busy drowning in his own thoughts, I slept. I would wake up just to look around. There's not much to see since it's just me and my boss, who's clearly busy thinking about something else and did not notice that I was awake (if he did he would have talked to me).

It's weird how I would feel my heart beat on the back of my head, how my peripherals would blur out just by squinting and how easily I could fall asleep. I'd close my eyes for a second and when I open them, an hour or two would pass. Because of that, I don't know what my diagnosis is, if the doctor dropped by, if I was brought to the operating room, had my x-ray taken and stuff like that.

By the time I regained my senses and stopped feeling groggy, it was already evening. Rufus offered me food but I declined. I just asked for water and stared at the ceiling lost in my own thoughts.

* * *

"No way…" I say in awe and look at my boss who's drinking a cup of coffee beside me.

We just finished breakfast when he was asked to get the results, and here we are.

"You know, normally, it takes months for fractures to heal."

"It's a good thing that my regeneration fixed me up quickly. I don't know how you'd lie to Vincent about my extended hospital stay."

He chuckles then places his empty cup on the bedside table and crosses his arms.

"The doctors already gave me the green. We'll send you home in the afternoon."

"Wait... Why didn't this raise any suspicion among the medical staff?"

"You haven't noticed it yet?"

"Noticed what?"

"This is the same hospital you were admitted to a couple of years ago. You never bothered asking before so I thought you knew." he heaves a sigh. "My family owns this place."

"Oh..." _since he opened up the topic..._ "Y'know, I've always wondered... What happened to Veld? How come I never saw him again?"

He gives me a small smile. "He was a great field agent..."

My eyes widen. "Was!?" _He really fired him after that incident? No way... Did he get killed in action? That's very unlikely but it could've happened._

"He's happily-" _Happily retired? Happily resting six feet below the ground? "_ -doing his work behind the desk as the head of the Department of Administrative Research."

"Thank goodness." I sigh. "So he stopped being a Turk... Was it because of _that_?"

He chuckles. "The Department of Administrative Research _is_ the Turks. _Turks_ more of a nickname than a name."

"Well, it's good to hear he's doing fine. So… Tseng and Elena, are not in some kind of trouble because of what happened to me, right?"

He fishes his phone out of his pockets, "They gathered more intel about the drugs I showed you yesterday."

 _He's dodging the subject again but I won't let him_. "They never actually left when they dropped us off. They were keeping a close eye in us but they couldn't help in time when the black goblin swallowed me."

He sighs. "I thought you already gave up on this subject. Don't worry, I didn't do anything."

 _Thank goodness._

"Going back..." he clears his throat, "I've said before that they found drugs in the victim's belongings but according to some experts, it looked more like his cause of death was not because of the consumption of the drug."

I raise an eyebrow, "What killed him, then?"

He looks down and takes deep breath. "A succubus."

"Oh..." I quickly close my gaping mouth and gulp down the lump forming in my throat.

Succubus or Succubi, are demons who seduce their victims and slowly drain their life force. They could even kill their victims either by kissing them or by... engaging in intercourse. They have the ability to conceal their horns, tail, and wings and are classified as humanoid demons, demons that could easily slip through detection due to their human-like features (of course, except for the tail, wings, and horns). Their counterpart are the Incubus/Incubi who bears the same abilities, except they are male.

"The previous results pointed that he's positive on using the drug but we're still awaiting the results that would rule-out the succubus possibility."

"Uh... Do you think it's possible?"

"The succubus? Yeah. The way they covered it up is amazing. The drug is probably induced by the time the succubus does her thing, thus masking the real cause of death."

"Don't tell me you're planning on taking this job?"

He scoffs, "Geez, you're not up to jobs like these. Besides, I'm just really interested on this case."

"Wait... Are you saying that I can't handle it?"

"I'm not _saying_ you can't handle it. I _know_ you can't handle it."

My eyebrows met in the middle. "Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. I can handle a succubus. Besides, I bet she won't even make my heart skip; not even once!"

He chuckles. "It's because you already have someone that makes your heart skip."

I feel blood rush to my head. _What is he talking about!? I don't have somebody like- oh... He meant her... Argh! I already told him and Cid that I don't have a thing for her. Why do they kee-_

Three sharp knocks interrupt my train of thought.

The nurse pokes her head inside, "Mr. Shinra..."

"Yes?"

She smiles and walks towards Rufus with a clipboard and a pen at hand. He signs it, gives her a wink and smiles. I shook my head then started to laugh.

"Thank you." she says weakly before dashing towards the door, her face beet red.

He turns to me with a weird smirk. "Let's get you home."

"Do you _really_ want to leave? What about-"

"You know…I'm really curious how fast your regeneration is," He cracks his knuckles loudly. "Wanna test it out?"

I gulp and look down at the cotton taped on the back of my wrist.

"Oh! I almost forgot." He fiddles with his phone and brings it up to his ear. "Get the car ready. We'll be out in five minutes."

He puts his phone in his pocket, takes the paper bag from the floor, and throws it on my bed.

"Get dressed. I'll wait for you outside."

* * *

I already knew which one was our ride home when I saw the two men dressed in suits. One of them was tall bald and wore sunglasses. He looks like he can make a grown man cry home to his mother. The other guy had long messy red hair that were subdued by goggles and a ponytail. Unlike shades, goggles' suit was sloppy. His shirt was untucked and its top two buttons were missing. He's more of a gangster than a Turk. If his partner wasn't around, I wouldn'tve recognized him as a Turk.

Shades was holding out the door for us while the messy red head jogged to the driver's seat. I slip in and my boss right after.

"Yo, kid. I heard you broke several bones." the driver says as we reached the hospital exit gate.

"Yeah. I did."

"Man, imagine how easier life would be if I had the same ski-"

Rufus clears his throat. "The kid is exhausted. Better let him rest."

I look out the window as we make our way through the city.

 _The ride home sure is taking a while…_

* * *

This probably my seventh... Nope eighth... Nah... It's my ninth. I take the last sip of "juice" and order another. I make my way through the dance floor where the sea of dancing bodies were so great that it was hard to decipher if the person you just passed by was male or female.

I was almost out of the mosh pit when I feel a tap my shoulder. "Care to dance for a bit first?"

 _This voice sounds familiar... Where have I heard it before?_

I turn. _No way._

I step back and repeat the thought. _No way._

There she stood with a seductive smile and a sweet dress. Uh... I meant a sweet smile and a seductive dress.

"Uh..." I clear my throat. "Sure."

She puts her arms around me and pulls me closer; our torsos and foreheads pressed together. She stares at me with her alluring set ruby eyes and smiles. I couldn't do anything but gulp the lump forming in my throat.

"Cloud..." she says softly.

"Hm?"

She pulls me closer and kisses me. I close my eyes and savor the moment.

…

...

I feel my knees start to buckle and open my eyes. She breaks away from the kiss and I drop to the floor.

My vision starts to blur. She kneels beside me, strokes my cheek and whispers, "Thanks for the meal."

* * *

My eyes shot open. I sigh and wipe the beads of sweat off my forehead. _I'm back in my room._ _I must've dozed off in the car._

Rufus probably asked Shades bring me here. I make my way towards the bathroom and open the faucet. I cup my hands under it and splash water on my face. Looking at my reflection, I frown.

 _What the heck was up in my dream?_ _Why was she a succubus?_

I shake the idea off my head and splash water on my face again.

 _Inhale. Exhale._

 _Tifa is not a succubus._

 _Good. Inhale. Exhale._

 _Tifa is not a succubus._

I pull the towel hanging from the rack and wipe my face. I take a deep breath and mutter, "Tifa is not a succubus."

My phone rings and I abandon the towel in the bathroom and rush to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Cloud. How are you feeling?"

I raise my eyebrow. _Wait, who is this?_

I pull my phone from my cheek and look at the caller ID. _Vincent._

"Good as new!" I say trying to sound chirpier than usual.

"Great! Hey um... Is it okay if we come visit you?"

"Uh... By 'we' you mean there's someone else coming with you?"

"Yeah... Tifa said she wanted to see you too."

I look around my unit. _Looks clean._

"Uh..." _Do I have food, though?_

I walk up to the fridge and check.

"... Cloud?"

 _Shit._ The contents were three apples, a carton of milk, half-a dozen eggs, a 2-liter bottle of cola, and three bottles of strawberry-flavored Chocobo Stomp. Market day for me is usually every other Sunday. I'd be back from work and I'd be loaded. Yesterday was supposed to be market day, unfortunately… _that_ happened.

"Uh... Can you stall her for a bit? I just..." _I can't tell him that the fridge is empty cause they'll volunteer to buy it though my budget would appreciate that, my dignity won't._ "I need to clean a bit."

"Uh... We're-"

"See you guys later."

I stop the call and rush to get my wallet and put on shoes.

 _What am I going to cook for them? I'll think about it when I get there._

Stepping out, I check my pockets for my keys. _Damn. It's not here._

 _Should I go look for it inside?_ I decide not to debate with myself about it and just leave my unit unlocked. It's not like I left my glove there. It'll ruin the most important rule I have: Always have your glove ready. I've had a lot of near-death experiences during my rookie days.

I jump down the last couple of steps and continue my mad dash towards the door. Just as I reached the door, the knob turns. Instinctively, I take a step back. I thought of witty comebacks just in case this was Genesis. Well, I hope it's Genesis.

My blood froze. Standing on the other side were two ruby-eyed ravens, who also happened to be my guests.

"Hey, Cloud!" Vincent greets.

I expected Tifa to be as cheerful as Vincent, but she was not. She was same in the state as I did: blood frozen, eyes widened, and jaw agape. I knew exactly why. The last time she saw me, I had several broken bones. She must've expected to see me wearing a cast and most probably bedridden. But here I am, standing in front of her.

I snap out of my daze and I gulp the lump forming in my throat. "Uh... Hi..."

I pull Vincent in and put him in a headlock. I look back at Tifa who seemed more confused than before.

"I told you to buy me some time." I say in hush tone.

"I said 'we're almost there' but you ended the call."

"Dude... I don't have food in my fridge."

He raises the plastic bag he's holding. Smiling smugly, he says, "Already got it covered."

* * *

When you enter my unit, you automatically see my tiny kitchen to your left, the door to the bathroom on your right, and the door to my bedroom at the end. Unlike the other units, I have a kitchen inside. Other tenants either go downstairs to the "common area" to cook and eat there or eat outside. That was the plan but the caretaker, Granny Aggy (we just call her Granny), is kind enough to cook for everyone. She said it gives her purpose since her children are all grown-up and live far away. My parents did not want to hire her at first since she's not supposed to be working anymore but she really wanted to.

Yes, my family owns the place (also the reason why I get to have a kitchen). Hmm… Have I not talked about it before?

I place my shoes in the shoe rack and offer my guests with my extra set of slippers which are intended for my folks, just in case they want to drop by. Vincent places the grocery bag onto the kitchen counter and starts unpacking. The stove beeps as I plug its chord into the socket.

"You press the _on/off_ button then the _selector_ button." I say pressing the corresponding button on the glass. "Then press the _minus_ sign to reduce the heat and the _plus_ sign to increase it. The number indicated on the glass doesn't necessarily mean the temperature but more of how of high or how low the heat is. 200 is low heat, 600 is medium, and a 1000 and up is high."

"Okay. Okay. I get it." He says bobbing his head.

He pats my back, "Now, go and do your homework while I cook dinner," he gives me a smug smile before saying: " _Son._ "

It would have been pretty funny if he did not say it monotonously. A sarcastic tone… Heh. I don't think Vincent, could ever pull that off.

I turn to my other guest, "I can't really take a break from school, huh?"

She smiles, making the hair at the back of my head stand.

 _It was just a dream._

 _She's not a succubus. She's a half-vampire._

 _Vampire, not succubus, okay?_

 _You can do this, Cloud._

 _You won't be awkward and make her sense that you had weird dream about her._

"Uh… So, what kind of torture did our teachers conjure up this time?" I say as I open the door to my bedroom for her.

"Hmm…" she says putting her index finger on her chin. "Just an essay and several equations that need to be solved."

I sigh and turn the lights on. The sun was slowly fading in the background as the sky turns into an ombre of orange and blue, making my room orange-er than usual. To the right is my small living room with a small glass coffee table, a TV hanging on the wall underneath is a wooden table with my gaming console. At the other side of the room is my bed, study table, and bookshelf.

"Which torture will we go through first?" I say as I close the door behind me.

My heart skips as I turn my head and find myself face-to-face with her. She grabs my hand and I feel my heart skip yet again.

 _Please, don't give me a kiss of death._

She stares at my arm and lightly pokes it.

"Uh…" I say raising an eyebrow.

 _Is that part of a ritual before you give someone 'the kiss'?_

She looks up. "This was all bandaged up yesterday, right? And…"

"And?"

"How come you're already discharged from the hospital? It should've taken months before your body completely healed…"

"Shh…" I say, covering her mouth.

I listen intently to the noise coming from the other side of the door. Just the sound of a knife slicing away… _That's a good sign._ If Vincent heard her, he would stop chopping away and went straight towards the door.

I put my hands on her shoulder and steer her towards the window.

"Where are you going with this?"

"I know Rufus said that you're human before… Clearly, you're not. So… What are you, Cloud?"

 _Whew. Thank goodness it's just about what I am. I thought It was going to be something different. Wait… Why did I think that? Hmm…_

 _Oh, right! I ignored my previous mental note. Tifa is not a succubus._

"Is it _so_ confidential that you can't tell me?"

Her voice feels like a mix of disappointment and awe. Err… not _awe_ , but _aww._ Like, 'aww what a cute child'.

 _Hmm… It's not like what I am is a secret… I guess I could tell her._

"I just got altered a few years back but… Technically, I'm still classified as a human."

"Oh… So you're like a superhero."

"Yeah… I fell into a vat of toxic waste." I say before laughing sarcastically.

I walk past her, ignoring her frown, grab my notebook and pen from the study table and sit by the coffee table.

I look up and give her a fake smile, "Shall we start working on the torture?"

 _Superheroes don't exist here, only monsters do._

* * *

 **AN:** It was supposed to be longer but I lost the previous version. Sorry.

 **Vv-saya-vV** , **Humble Servent** , **irish d' salmon luver,** (if you haven't already,) please check your inbox.

My **dear reader** ,  
I know I have lapses and I don't update regularly. I may not have names to attach the view count with (there's a lot of anon readers, y'know?), but still I appreciate every single one of them. Thank you so much for reading. I wish I'd be able to entertain you until the end and you'd enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

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